FIGURE 1.

9 Effect of temperature on (a) yield strengths, (b) tensile strengths, and

(c) modulus of elasticity of structural steels. (From R. L. Brockenbrough and B. G.
Johnston, USS Steel Design Manual, R. L. Brockenbrough & Associates, Inc., Pitts-
burgh, Pa., with permission.)

1.21
1.22 SECTION ONE

T ⫺ 100
Fy / F⬘y ⫽ 1 ⫺ 100⬚F ⬍ T ⬍ 800⬚F (1.9)
5833
Fy / F⬘y ⫽ (⫺720,000 ⫹ 4200 ⫺ 2.75T 2)10⫺6 800⬚F ⬍ T ⬍ 1200⬚F (1.10)

T ⫺ 100
E / E⬘ ⫽ 1 ⫺ 100⬚F ⬍ T ⬍ 700⬚F (1.11)
5000
E / E⬘ ⫽ (500,000 ⫹ 1333T ⫺ 1.111T 2)10⫺6 700⬚F ⬍ T ⬍ 1200⬚F (1.12)
␣ ⫽ (6.1 ⫹ 0.0019T )10 ⫺6
100⬚F ⬍ T ⬍ 1200⬚F (1.13)

In these equations Fy / F⬘y and E / E⬘ are the ratios of elevated-temperature to room-temperature

yield strength and modulus of elasticity, respectively, ␣ is the coefficient of thermal expansion
per degree Fahrenheit, and T is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
Ductility of structural steels, as indicated by elongation and reduction-of-area values,
decreases with increasing temperature until a minimum value is reached. Thereafter, ductility
increases to a value much greater than that at room temperature. The exact effect depends
on the type and thickness of steel. The initial decrease in ductility is caused by strain aging
and is most pronounced in the temperature range of 300 to 700⬚F. Strain aging also accounts
for the increase in tensile strength in this temperature range shown for two of the steels in
Fig. 1.9b.
Under long-time loadings at elevated temperatures, the effects of creep must be consid-
ered. When a load is applied to a specimen at an elevated temperature, the specimen deforms
rapidly at first but then continues to deform, or creep, at a much slower rate. A schematic
creep curve for a steel subjected to a constant tensile load and at a constant elevated tem-
perature is shown in Fig. 1.10. The initial elongation occurs almost instantaneously and is
followed by three stages. In stage 1 elongation increases at a decreasing rate. In stage 2,
elongation increases at a nearly constant rate. And in stage 3, elongation increases at an
increasing rate. The failure, or creep-rupture, load is less than the load that would cause
failure at that temperature in a short-time loading test.
Table 1.9 indicates typical creep and rupture data for a carbon steel, an HSLA steel, and
a constructional alloy steel. The table gives the stress that will cause a given amount of
creep in a given time at a particular temperature.
For special elevated-temperature applications in which structural steels do not provide
adequate properties, special alloy and stainless steels with excellent high-temperature prop-
erties are available.

1.13 FATIGUE

A structural member subjected to cyclic loadings may eventually fail through initiation and
propagation of cracks. This phenomenon is called fatigue and can occur at stress levels
considerably below the yield stress.
Extensive research programs conducted to determine the fatigue strength of structural
members and connections have provided information on the factors affecting this property.
These programs included studies of large-scale girder specimens with flange-to-web fillet
welds, flange cover plates, stiffeners, and other attachments. The studies showed that the
stress range (algebraic difference between maximum and minimum stress) and notch se-
verity of details are the most important factors. Yield point of the steel had little effect. The
knowledge developed from these programs has been incorporated into specifications of the
American Institute of Steel Construction, American Association of State Highway and Trans-
portation Officials, and the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Asso-
ciation, which offer detailed provisions for fatigue design.
 PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEELS AND EFFECTS OF STEELMAKING AND FABRICATION 1.23

FIGURE 1.10 Creep curve for structural steel in tension (sche-

matic). (From R. L. Brockenbrough and B. G. Johnston, USS Steel
Design Manual, R. L. Brockenbrough & Associates, Inc., Pitts-
burgh, Pa., with permission.)

1.14 BRITTLE FRACTURE

Under sufficiently adverse combinations of tensile stress, temperature, loading rate, geometric
discontinuity (notch), and restraint, a steel member may experience a brittle fracture. All
these factors need not be present. In general, a brittle fracture is a failure that occurs by
cleavage with little indication of plastic deformation. In contrast, a ductile fracture occurs
mainly by shear, usually preceded by considerable plastic deformation.
Design against brittle fracture requires selection of the proper grade of steel for the ap-
plication and avoiding notchlike defects in both design and fabrication. An awareness of the
phenomenon is important so that steps can be taken to minimize the possibility of this
undesirable, usually catastrophic failure mode.
An empirical approach and an analytical approach directed toward selection and evalua-
tion of steels to resist brittle fracture are outlined below. These methods are actually com-
plementary and are frequently used together in evaluating material and fabrication require-
ments.

Charpy V-Notch Test. Many tests have been developed to rate steels on their relative re-
sistance to brittle fracture. One of the most commonly used tests is the Charpy V-notch test,
which specifically evaluates notch toughness, that is, the resistance to fracture in the presence
of a notch. In this test, a small square bar with a specified-size V-shaped notch at its mid-
length (type A impact-test specimen of ASTM A370) is simply supported at its ends as a
beam and fractured by a blow from a swinging pendulum. The amount of energy required
to fracture the specimen or the appearance of the fracture surface is determined over a range
of temperatures. The appearance of the fracture surface is usually expressed as the percentage
of the surface that appears to have fractured by shear.
1.24 SECTION ONE

TABLE 1.9 Typical Creep Rates and Rupture Stresses for Structural Steels at Various Temperatures

Test Stress, ksi, for creep rate of Stress, ksi for rupture in
temperature,
⬚F 0.0001% per hr* 0.00001% per hr† 1000 hours 10,000 hours 100,000 hours

A36 steel

800 21.4 13.8 38.0 24.8 16.0

900 9.9 6.0 18.5 12.4 8.2
1000 4.6 2.6 9.5 6.3 4.2

A588 grade A steel†

800 34.6 29.2 44.1 35.7 28.9

900 20.3 16.3 28.6 22.2 17.3
1000 11.4 8.6 17.1 12.0 8.3
1200 1.7 1.0 3.8 2.0 1.0

A514 grade F steel†

700 — — 101.0 99.0 97.0

800 81.0 74.0 86.0 81.0 77.0

* Equivalent to 1% in 10,000 hours.

† Equivalent to 1% in 100,000 hours.
‡ Not recommended for use where temperatures exceed 800⬚F.

A shear fracture is indicated by a dull or fibrous appearance. A shiny or crystalline

appearance is associated with a cleavage fracture.
The data obtained from a Charpy test are used to plot curves, such as those in Fig. 1.11,
of energy or percentage of shear fracture as a function of temperature. The temperature near
the bottom of the energy-temperature curve, at which a selected low value of energy is
absorbed, often 15 ft  lb, is called the ductility transition temperature or the 15-ft  lb

FIGURE 1.11 Transition curves from Charpy-V notch impact tests. (a) Variation of percent shear
fracture with temperature. (b) Variation of absorbed energy with temperature.
 PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEELS AND EFFECTS OF STEELMAKING AND FABRICATION 1.25

transition temperature. The temperature at which the percentage of shear fracture decreases
to 50% is often called the fracture-appearance transition temperature. These transition
temperatures serve as a rating of the resistance of different steels to brittle fracture. The
lower the transition temperature, the greater is the notch toughness.
Of the steels in Table 1.1, A36 steel generally has about the highest transition temperature.
Since this steel has an excellent service record in a variety of structural applications, it
appears likely that any of the structural steels, when designed and fabricated in an appropriate
manner, could be used for similar applications with little likelihood of brittle fracture. Nev-
ertheless, it is important to avoid unusual temperature, notch, and stress conditions to min-
imize susceptibility to brittle fracture.
In applications where notch toughness is considered important, the minimum Charpy
V-notch value and test temperature should be specified, because there may be considerable
variation in toughness within any given product designation unless specifically produced to
minimum requirements. The test temperature may be specified higher than the lowest op-
erating temperature to compensate for a lower rate of loading in the anticipated application.
(See Art. 1.1.5.)
It should be noted that as the thickness of members increases, the inherent restraint
increases and tends to inhibit ductile behavior. Thus special precautions or greater toughness,
or both, is required for tension or flexural members comprised of thick material. (See Art.
1.17.)

Fracture-Mechanics Analysis. Fracture mechanics offers a more direct approach for pre-
diction of crack propagation. For this analysis, it is assumed that a crack, which may be
defined as a flat, internal defect, is always present in a stressed body. By linear-elastic stress
analysis and laboratory tests on a precracked specimen, the defect size is related to the
applied stress that will cause crack propagation and brittle fracture, as outlined below.
Near the tip of a crack, the stress component ƒ perpendicular to the plane of the crack
(Fig. 1.12a) can be expressed as
KI
ƒ⫽ (1.14)
兹2␲r
where r is distance from tip of crack and KI is a stress-intensity factor related to geometry

FIGURE 1.12 Fracture mechanics analysis for brittle fracture. (a) Sharp crack in a stressed infinite
plate. (b) Disk-shaped crack in an infinite body. (c) Relation of fracture toughness to thickness.